


Forever

by Awesome_Sauce432



Series: Post Episode Fun Times [9]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Because I Wanted More Conversations Dangit, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, I'm Squeezing A Scene Into The Middle Of Episode 94, mostly comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:14:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22598413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Awesome_Sauce432/pseuds/Awesome_Sauce432
Summary: Upon returning to Xhorhas after an intense, emotional couple of days, Fjord finds himself with downtime in the Xhorhaus while some of the Mighty Nein run their own errands and others try to process everything that had happened and was yet to come. Fjord, however, is a bit more concerned with his first mate in particular.
Relationships: Fjord & Beauregard Lionett
Series: Post Episode Fun Times [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1487249
Comments: 7
Kudos: 83





	Forever

Fjord poked his head around the corner to the kitchen of the Xhorhaus, intending to scan it quickly for his target before moving on to the basement. But inside the kitchen was Beau, poking at one of the mushroom and moss sandwiches Caduceus had left out, one leg crossed on her chair and the other dangling above the ground. 

“Beau.” He walked in, double-checking to make sure no one else was around.

“Sup.” Beau glanced up at him and straightened her posture a little, almost imperceptibly. “You like these things?”

She prodded at the sandwich, which did seem to have more mushrooms than usual. 

“They’re actually very nice.” Fjord shrugged his shoulders, and Beau regarded him with an incredulous frown. 

“Bread isn’t supposed to be pink, Fjord.” 

“That’s the moss, actually.” The corner of Fjord’s mouth quirked upwards, and Beau rolled her eyes, pushing off the chair and dropping to the ground. “Are you doing anything right now?” 

She paused, looked at him again, impossible to read. He’d thought he’d gotten better at it over time, but these past few days it felt like he had gone back to square one, unable to even guess at what she was thinking. 

Well, he had some ideas. None very good. 

“I _was_ going to go to my room and have a nap til Caleb and Nott come back.” She finally said, before smirking. “Unless you want another workout.”

“I think this mornings one was wonderful, thanks.” Fjord said quickly. One workout a day was _more_ than enough for him. Beau’s face hardened a little, and he cleared his throat. “I do appreciate them, Beau, really. I’m just not as fit as you yet.”

“True, true. So what do you want?” 

“Can’t I have a friendly chat with my friend in our house?” Fjord grinned, and Beau didn’t even bother to hide the suspicion in her look this time.

“What do you want?” She asked dryly. 

Fjord dropped the playful lilt to his tone, but kept it light. “I want to talk, Beau. A _lot_ has happened these past couple days.” 

She looked away, tilting her body to the side. “What do you want to talk _about_?”

“Lots of things.” He glanced around, feeling exposed just standing in the kitchen. “Do you want to go somewhere one of the others won’t walk in on us?” 

She didn’t answer at first, before finally exhaling. “I _suppose_.” 

“Come on, I’ll let you snoop in my room.” Fjord teased, his smile growing when Beau’s eyes flickered back to him, obviously interested.

“You ass.” She muttered, but there was no malice to it, and Fjord clapped a hand on her back even though she hunched her shoulders like she was being marched to her own execution. 

She still immediately began rummaging through Fjord’s drawers once she got inside, quickly realising there was nothing of interest in any of them. 

Fjord left the door ajar, before going to lean up against the wall. Beau noticed, staring at the offered escape route for a moment before narrowing her eyes at him, standing in the middle of the room with her arms folded. 

She didn’t say ‘ _Well?’_ but it was implied. 

Fjord inhaled slowly, before speaking. “You got what we were trying to say back in the forest, right? In the dome? I mean, we were pretty much all fucked up at that point, but it made sense, right?”

He saw Beau’s face tighten, a hiss of breath escaping her lips. She’d been expecting this kind of questioning at least. 

“Yeah, sure.” 

He didn’t believe her. He believed that they’d made sense, but he didn’t believe that _Beau_ believed it. Not yet. 

“Good.” Fjord pushed off the wall, not taking a step towards her but folding his own arms loosely, keeping his posture casual. “Cause it’s all true. You’re with us, Beau.”

Beau stared at him, looked away, then looked at him again. “What are you going to do, then? When all of this is over?” She gestured vaguely around the room, her arms dropping to her side.

“I don’t follow.” Fjord shrugged, and Beau’s eyebrows knitted together.

“This. The Mighty Nein.”

“Why would it end?”

“Because it will. After the peace talks, after Travelercon, after Caduceus’ family, after the Assembly, after all of it, what will be left?” Beau kept her voice unnervingly steady, and Fjord distantly noticed that there were still zombie guts caked into her hair. 

“We’ll still be left, Beau. We’ll make it through all of that.” 

“And then what? We won’t have anything to work towards, nothing to keep us together.”

“You don’t know that, Beau.” Fjord took a step forward, feeling a little heartened when Beau didn’t immediately step back. “I know you’re not a fan of destiny, or fate, so why do you think this is so certain?” 

Beau’s mouth opened before closing, her lips forming a thin, tight line as her hands curled into fists. 

He took the chance and pressed forward, taking another step. “Even if there aren’t any more monsters for us to face or evil witches to hunt down, we’ll still be the Mighty Nein. There’s nowhere else _I’d_ rather go, at least.” 

She looked away. “You wouldn’t want to go back to the Menagerie Coast? To Nicodranas? Port Damali? The Balleater, be a captain again?” 

“Wouldn’t be nearly as much fun without you guys there. Especially my first mate.” He walked right next to her and poked her in the arm, rewarded with the slightest quirk in the corner of her mouth. “Did you really think we’d just leave you behind once there was nothing else to punch?”

She didn’t answer, and Fjord let the silence hang there for a moment. “I felt the same way. Still do, a bit.”

He exhaled, walking over to his bed and sitting down. Beau turned halfway towards him, looking at her out the corner of her eyes, and he patted down a spot on the bed next to him but she didn’t join him, fixed in the middle of the room. 

“I didn’t think _I_ was good enough to fit in any group, so I tried to be someone who did. You guys accepted him. I led you across the ocean for a power trip, and even when I was being an asshole you stuck with me. When I didn’t have _anything_ , you helped me out.”

“That was different-” Beau said quietly, but Fjord shook his head.

“Mm, I don’t think so.” He said, continuing before Beau could retort again. “I lied to all of you since we met and you still kept me around. Beau, we’re never going to leave you behind. Does the Mighty Nein leave their people behind?” 

Beau glared at him, folding her arms again, fingers digging into her arms. 

“Did you leave Jester, Yasha and I behind when we got kidnapped?”

“No.”

“Did you leave Yasha behind when she got brainwashed?” 

“You thought she’d turned evil.” Beau spat at him, and Fjord winced. Yeah, he’d jumped the gun a bit on that one. 

“Yeah, I was suspicious. That’s on me and my _own_ issues. But you? Jester? You didn’t give up on her. And when it came down to it, we all fought to get her back.” 

“What’s your point?” 

“Does the Mighty Nein leave their people behind?” 

Another long, heavy silence. And, finally, a quiet, almost resigned voice.

“Not if we can help it.” 

“And are _you_ a member of the Mighty Nein?” 

This time, Beau groaned. “ _Yes_.” 

“Exactly. We love you, we care about you, we’re not gonna let you go if we can help it.” Fjord said. “You’re stuck with us now, congratulations.” 

Beau rolled her eyes like a petulant teenager, but after a few moments she walked over and sat down on the bed next to Fjord. He shuffled a little closer, putting an arm around her. 

“I don’t know what’s gonna happen in the future. But if there is some asshole out there writing up a destiny that ends with any of us alone, I’m hunting them down and beating them up. I don’t want a life without any of you close by. Without you close by. Whether you’re next door or a teleportation circle away.” 

Beau leaned into his side, appearing as exhausted as she had the previous night, albeit cleaner. 

“We love you, Beau, and we’re gonna keep loving you. Forever. That’s a promise, and I have to take that shit seriously now that I’m a paladin.” 

There was a stifled snort, and an elbow to his ribs that hurt a little more than Fjord was willing to ever admit. “I _am_ serious about that. And I can keep saying it until you believe me.” 

“Alright, alright, I get it.” Beau sighed, pulling her legs up onto the bed. He pressed the side of his jaw to the top of her head, feeling her fingers brush up against the hand that was around her shoulders. “Okay.” 

He heard her breath out slowly, deeply, like the first exhale after calming down from an intense battle. It had been a long few days.

**Author's Note:**

> look i wanted more conversations so I GUESS i have to WRITE THEM MYSELF 
> 
> i was gonna write something completely different but then brjeau feelings smacked me in the face so here we are


End file.
